Afghanistan’s coach Jonathan Trott thinks his team will have an advantage over the accident-prone Proteas going into Wednesday’s T20 World Cup semi-final against South Africa because they “have no scarring, no history.” For the first time ever, Afghanistan will compete in a World Cup last four. Jonathan Trott has got it right with talented bunch that Afghanistan has.
South Africa’s only significant international victory to date comes from the 1998 Champions Trophy, despite their best efforts. They have also frequently been charged with “choking.” Among their list of infamous mishaps is losing to Australia in the 1999 World Cup semi-finals following a ridiculous run-out and a memorable error in reading the rain regulations against Sri Lanka in 2003 on home soil.
Head coach of AFG Jonathan Trott is backing his players to come out good against the South African National team as South Africa has a neck of slipping in the semi-final stages of a big tournament. The Afghanistan team has no baggage behind their back and can play with freedom as they have qualified for the semi-finals in a world cup for the first time.
Jonathan Trott Confident Ahead Of Semi-Finals
Afghanistan are all set to take on South Africa in the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup 2024 in the West Indies. Ahead of the big game, Jonathan Trott the AFG head coach said :
“We go into the semi-final with no scarring or no history with regards to semi-finals. This is uncharted territory for us,” said Trott, the former Ashes-winning England batsman who was born and raised in South Africa.
“We’re just going to go out there and give it our all. There’s no preconceived ideas on it all, or history of failure or success in semi-finals in past years. “For us it’s a new challenge and I think that makes us dangerous in the semi-finals as a side with nothing to lose and obviously a lot of pressure on the opposition.”
In their two previous Twenty20 encounters, South Africa triumphed over Afghanistan by 59 runs in Barbados during the 2010 T20 World Cup and by 37 runs in Mumbai six years later. The Proteas have won all seven of their games in this World Cup, but they have occasionally verged on humiliation.
Afghanistan Thriller Qualification
Afghanistan defeated Bangladesh on Monday by a thrilling eight runs to guarantee their spot in the final four.
“When I took over, I was astounded by the talent that I saw,” added Jonathan Trott.“There was a certain rawness to it all and no real structure to how the game was played or thought about. “I’ve just tried to add here and there. At no stage have I tried to clip anybody’s wings. I’m just trying to make the bow of the arrow even stronger so that they can go for longer, win more games and shoot for the stars even further away.”
The world is set to witness the last 4 teams in action in the World Cup as Afghanistan take on South Africa and India take on England in the other semi-finals.
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